Bella's POV

"Is everyone in your family a vampire, or is it just you?"

Edward doesn't respond, and immediately I hear a loud ringing in my ears, and my vision blurs. I wanted to know, I wanted to get the hard part over with before he killed me, but now I'm regretting my words.

I'm so stupid.

The last few weeks I've been living in a sort of constant dread, fear of being hunted. Now it's not just dread, it's not just fear, it's terror. I should have waited until we got home— or never said anything at all— but what would it matter? Obviously, the Cullen family has some sort of vested interest in me, and it's not like I have any more tricks up my sleeve to escape vampires a second time.

"My whole family." He says after a while, his voice is very calm and measured.

I don't look at him, but I feel his eyes on me, and I groan. I cover my face with my hands and say, "What are you going to do with me?"

There's a much shorter pause, but a pause at all does nothing to reassure me.

"Bella, I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to."

I just shake my head, and tears begin to stream down my face.

"I don't— I don't want to die, Edward." My voice is choked with barely restrained sobs, and I stop myself before I plead too pathetically for my life. This seriously cannot be happening; this makes it two for two on all the boys I've ever liked.

Now might be a good time to reconsider if I like Edward. I think bitterly, and it's almost funny.

Edward pulls over now, I'll probably be dead any minute.

"Bella," he says, his tone insistent. "You aren't going to die."

This doesn't calm me down.

"That's— that's why you called at six am this morning— were you watching me?"

My accusation rings out, and he looks like a deer in the headlights. No response.

Well, there's no recourse now. I don't know how you could even fight a vampire.

"Bella, no one is going to hurt you, I promise. Look at me."

I do look at him, I meet his gaze for a moment and take in the fact that he's looking as panicked as I am.

"Then what is going on?"

He opens his mouth, then closes it.

"Edward?" I groan, frustrated, and scared.

"When I brought you home the other night, I had a bad feeling about the woods, so I checked them and found a vampire I didn't know approaching your house. We got you and Charlie out of the house today to investigate and found evidence that this vampire had entered your home prior to my discovering him on Friday."

I stare at him, numb for a minute. Then the cold dread spreads through my body. I open my mouth to respond but instead open the car door and throw up on the side of the road.

At some point, I reach a level of such hysteria that the next thing I know I'm tucked into bed, wrapped in blankets with a warm towel over my head.

My head is pounding, and I jerk up in an attempt to pull myself upright. I try and take in the room and jump when I see Edward sitting beside me. I'm not sitting on my bed, or anywhere remotely familiar to me. I open my mouth, not sure if I'm going to start screaming or start crying, when he says, "I'm not going to hurt you, Bella."

I pull myself up now, refusing to even take my eyes from him.

"Where am I?" My throat hurts, like I've been screaming for a long time.

A new voice answers. "You had a panic attack, Edward brought you back and you were sedated, it's been several hours now."

Dr. Cullen's voice answers, and my eyes land on him quickly, terror probably very evident in them.

"Do you remember what I told you earlier?" Edward asks softly, his golden eyes taking me in with great caution.

My head pounds as I think about it, and I feel the familiar dread creep up on me as I recall his recount of the mysterious vampire who broke into my house. It's no mystery at all for me.

"You said you were a vampire," I whimper, attempting to pull myself up now. Not that I hope to escape if he doesn't let me, but I feel an extraordinary pull to at least try and fight for my life.

"You should lay back down," Dr. Cullen says, in a voice that is both soft and authoritative.

Looking between them now, I can't help but feel stupid for not realizing what they were before. I mean, it's not like there's a surefire method, but the good looks that all of the Cullens possess, the unnaturally pale skin, the

"I shared something else with you, Bella, do you remember?"

I do remember. I shudder runs down my spine, and my hands begin to shake uncontrollably.

"I don't want to talk about that." I say, feeling defeated.

"Bella," Dr. Cullen says, "We can help you. You don't have to worry about this alone."

Maybe the Cullens could help me, but it's not something I want. I just want to pretend like there is no past, there is no one coming after me, there is nothing to worry about. I want to keep the past under lock and key.

"Why are your eyes never red?" I blurt out, because this is something that continues to baffle me.

Edward blinks at me, looking at me very carefully.

"We don't drink human blood."

I stare at him for a long moment, weighing his words. I think it's possible for his statement to be true, but I just don't really know. I've never heard of anything like that, at least.

"James' eyes went from black to red whenever he…" I trail off, and a shudder runs through my spine.

Edward rests his head against his hand, a small sigh barely audible.

"We want to help you, Bella." Edward is the one who offers help this time, and something about it being Edward makes me feel safer.

"Why?"

"Because we don't care for the blood of the innocent to be shed, and—" He cuts himself off, clears his throat, then continues. "We don't allow other vampires to hunt in this area."

I try to digest this, but somehow just can't.

"Can I please go home?"

When I first woke in this place, I felt very little hope of escaping it. Now I'm cautiously working up hope that I might make it out.

Edward gives his father a meaningful look, then nods to himself.

"I'll take you home, Bella. Under one condition."

This makes my stomach lurch. I can't imagine what Edward would have me do for him to earn this favor….

"We don't want you left alone for the time being. We'll take you back home if you agree to allow us to stay near you in case anyone comes back."

I swallow hard, and nod wordlessly. The pain of the last year has been so well kept inside of me that I don't think I could talk about it if I wanted to, and right now, I don't want to. Rather than feeling the adrenaline and will to live that got me from Pheonix to Forks, I feel a cold complacency. All I want to do is curl up and go to sleep, and never wake up again. I don't have the energy for anything else, I'm certain of it. Maybe I don't have any more fight left in me, and I should just surrender myself to the mercy of this strange vampire family.

My odds seem a lot better with that route, anyway.

"Will you answer just one question?" Edward asks, his voice very gentle and reassuring.

I don't respond, which he takes as his opportunity.

"Why is James stalking you, Bella?"

I wince. "To kill me."

There's a brief pause before Edward says, "Why?"

That gives me pause. It's such a complicated history, and my memory surrounding my time with James is so hazy, I don't know exactly how to respond.

"I guess he's done playing with his food."

Edward's POV

Bella doesn't cooperate further, and after a few minutes my father concedes that the best thing for her is rest in a place she's comfortable. There's no denying the rapid beat of her heart and distrustful gaze as she sits in our home, so the best thing to do is to get her back to the Swan residence with increased awareness of the area.

Jasper and Emmet are still on the hunt for this James. Rosalie and Alice came back to see what they could do for Bella, but Carlilse didn't let them see her.

"She's in a very fragile state right now," He warned them on the other side of the closed door while I sat beside Bella, right after her sedation.

"What happened to her, Carlisle."

Rosalie's voice was dangerous, the likes of which I rarely hear. She can be mean, but there are certain situations that bring out a vengeful side of her.

"We won't know until she feels safe enough to confide in us."

Rosalie made a tutting sound, and Alice said, "We just need to kill him before he gets to her again."

It spoke to the gravity of the situation that my father didn't rebuke this. He simply mulled it over, weighing the pros and cons.

"We don't fully know if that is necessary," He said slowly. "But we do know this, the girl's life will come before anything else."

The conversation was interrupted by Esme bringing more blankets, causing the group to disperse. While Esme tucked Bella in, I listened to Rosalie stomp upstairs and slam the door, angry thoughts and horrible hypotheticals raging through her mind.

Of course, I felt for my sister. She probably understood Bella better than all of us in every way but one; it seemed that Bella was bound and determined to keep her history to herself and away from prying ears, while Rosalie had never really struggled with sharing the anger she felt. If only it were Rosalie whose thoughts I couldn't hear, so that I could hope to understand Bella's…

"She thinks very highly of you," My mother had assured me, propping a sleeping Bella's head with a soft pillow. "You just need to earn her trust."

I looked up at her then, and for the first time weighed Esme's perspective as well. I thought back to the way she was when she was first turned, the years it took to share her past, grief, and anger with my father. Perhaps if I want to understand where Bella's mind is, I need only to look towards my longsuffering mother.

"That's all I want." Esme squeezed my shoulder, and left the room. She isn't one for lingering.

So, after my father clears her, I take Bella home. Esme had wanted to draw her a bath and give her fresh clothes, but my father vetoes this.

"She needs to know we're not keeping her here."

Esme just nodded, a concerned frown on her face.

She is one for taking care of others, that is one certainty we have. It feels almost cruel to take Bella away from her when Bella clearly needs someone with this nurturing love in her life. Still, my father is right. She needs to be able to trust us.

Bella doesn't say goodbye, and she immediately shrinks into her seat. I let her sit in silence the whole way home, since I'm sure today has brought almost as much for her to ponder as it has for myself.

"Why do you go to high school?" She asks a good fifteen minutes into the drive. It's a good question.

"The younger we appear to be when we arrive, the longer we can stay in one place." I explain.

She seems to mull this over for a long time. Right when I'm convinced that she has moved on, she says, "Do people really watch you like that? Couldn't you just move here and do what you want, without seeing many people?"

I just shrug. "We have to fill our time somehow."

This she seems to accept. I want to ask her how the James spent his time, but it doesn't seem prudent to. It seems that any questions about her past are off limits, like she is desperate to just forget everything.

More information might help us help her, but not as much as having her trust will.

"Edward…" She begins as we reach her street, dark now. Her father won't be home for some time, as the diversion my siblings caused apparently caused a massive amount of paperwork.

"Someone's at my house." She squeaks.

I'm not as concerned as she is, because the closer we get, the more certain I am that this is the musk of one of those wolves, not a vampire.

"Your friend seems to be here to see you."

Jacob is waiting on the front porch, and he may have been waiting for hours. Looking at the clock I see that it's almost eleven pm, which could suggest hours of sitting and waiting.

Bella doesn't seem to be happy to see him either. She's rubbing her wrist self-consciously, and I'm suddenly reminded of the bruise her "friend" left her just earlier today. I wonder if that look in her eyes when she sees him is fear.

"I'll send him away." I offer, relieved at least that there is something for me to do. The wolf's appearance, though unwelcome, also indicates that the house has remained vampire free this evening.

"No," Bella says cautiously, and she begins to compose herself in a way that seems to bring her closer to her normal self.

"I'll talk to him, you wait here."

I want to argue, want to throw the wolf out and order him not to return for what he did to Bella, but it's not my call. I just nod slowly and decide that perhaps it's my turn to trust Bella.

She walks up to him slowly, and I realize with this newfound revelation she has had about my family, both parties are aware that I can hear them.

"You're with him." Jacob growls, before Bella can greet him. She crosses her arms defensively.

"Mind your business, Jake." She mumbles, but his eyes flash with anger.

"You need to trust me on this, Bella, you need to keep your distance from that family. They're not normal."

Bella's eyes flash with something too as she glances back at me, and I wonder if she's getting closer to figuring out her friend.

She just shakes her head. "I want you to go." She says firmly.

Jacob looks hurt by her words, but he masks it with more anger.

"I came to talk to you." When Bella doesn't respond, he adds, "About earlier."

Bella continues to stare at him for a long moment before she seems to decide he really isn't going to go further.

"You scared me." Her voice cracks on the last word, and her strong façade seems to crack. "You hurt my arm."

Jake's eyes soften at this, and he reaches out for her. She takes a step back instinctively, then concedes and lets him investigate her injury from this morning.

He really does look penitent now. Before there was so much arrogance you couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry." He finally murmurs, seemingly lost for words.

Bella takes her arm back and shrugs.

"No big deal, Jake." She shrugs noncommittally. "But you ought to go."

"Bella…" He begins, but she just shakes her head.

"No, Jake. Go home. Don't call me, don't come by my house."

The severity in her voice takes me aback, but I take it as my cue to exit the vehicle. I walk up behind Bella, and put my hand on her shoulder, making careful eye contact with Jacob.

The sight of me changes his demeanor, bringing it back to the absurdly angry boy we had previously seen.

"Whatever." He grumbles, shoving into me hard as he storms off the porch. Bella gasps at this, and takes a step back, but I don't stop blocking her from him until his truck roars off down the street. Bella stands on the porch a moment, staring after him with an open mouth, before she says "It's cold." And lets us both into the house.

The house is dark, and she doesn't say anything at first while she turns lights on and makes her way into the kitchen.

"My dad is working really late." She notes, frowning at the clock.

I wince. "He may not be home for a few hours yet."

Bella sighs, running her fingers through her hair, clearly agitated.

"Do you think he'll stay away?" She asks, hesitant.

"Who, Charlie?" I ask.

Bella rolls her eyes at this.

"Jacob."

I frown. "I can make sure that he does."

I don't want Bella to be frightened by anything, but certainly not by some clingy werewolf. Fending him off would be the easiest path to earning her trust.

Bella nods quickly, glancing out the window to the dark back yard.

"Good. Good, I was worried, you know? Him being here like that."

I don't know, so when she looks to me for reassurance, I shake my head, raising my eyebrows in question.

"I just— what if James had of come back and found Jacob here?" Bella shudders at this, and I begin to put the pieces together.

Bella isn't afraid of Jacob, she's afraid for him. Afraid that involvement in her life would endanger his. The idea is laughable, if James had arrived before Bella and I, the wolf and, no doubt his entire pack, would have an equal chance of squashing him as my family and I. The only weakness any of us have is the fact that the girl he is targeting is made of flesh and blood.

"Bella, you shouldn't worry about him like that."

Her eyes flash in anger at me. "He's my friend." She almost growls, and I throw my hands up in surrender. I'm bound not to reveal his kind to her, so I think that the best thing now is to move on.

I throw my hands up in surrender.

"Just worry about taking care of yourself, okay?"

She glares at me for another minute, as if for good measure, then nods, deflating slightly. She puts up a lot of walls to protect herself most of the time, sometimes lashing out like a wounded animal; but taking her in now, as she looks so defeated and tired in the dim hallway lighting, it's hard not to see her youth and vulnerability. I think of what kind of life she must have left to get here, what kind of battles she must have experienced with no one to help her. I extend my hand slowly to hers.

She looks up at me, cautiously reading my face, before she takes my hand in hers.

"You're not going to deal with this alone anymore, I promise."

She meets my eyes, cautiously seeming to decide if there's any merit to my words, then she does the unexpected.

She hugs me, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face in my chest. I hold on to her, rubbing her back gently as she begins to cry.

"I don't want to be alone." She whimpers, and I hold her tighter, caressing her hair and murmuring, "You won't be."

I spend that night in the rocking chair in her room, watching her toss and turn. Several times, she awakes from a nightmare in a fright, unable to calm herself down until I cautiously make my way to her bed to comfort her. Aware of her wounds, I am almost unwilling to cross this line, afraid to trigger her. It's Bella who reaches for me, though, and I find it impossible to resist her pull.

It is only when she finds her way back to sleep that her heartbeat slows, and she finds a peace that seems to evade her in wakefulness. When dawn comes, it finds me sitting on her bed, holding the girl in my arms with a tenderness born of the fear of hurting her.

This girl, who has navigated the waters of supernatural alone, ran from vampires without direction, has decided that she will allow me to protect her. I resolve that, at all cost, she won't find herself unguarded again.

Hey party peeps. This would have come out sooner, but I got an extra Christmas present from both sides of my and my fiancé's family. One side gave me covid, and the other gave me strep, so right now I have covid AND strep!

Haha but fr I'm okay, thank goodness for modern medicine and all that. I have lost my sense of smell which is surprisingly irritating, if I lose taste I will also lose my mind, so please pray for me that that doesn't happen.

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season and looking forward to a happy new year, I pray for you often and my greatest hope is that you are well.